Sonic Automotive and its EchoPark Automotive subsidiary have their first-ever chief technology officer.

Hired to the role is Stephen Carvelli, who was most recently vice president of software development engineering for Comcast Corp.

His 25-plus years of tech experience includes technology strategy, implementation and digital retail roles at places like Lowe’s, Chico’s and American Eagle.

“We are thrilled to bring Stephen Carvelli on board as our company’s first chief technology officer,” Sonic and EchoPark chief executive officer David Smith said in a news release.

“His expertise in technology strategy, combined with his prior work developing digital retail solutions, aligns with our commitment to providing an exceptional guest experience to consumers who shop online or in-store at our Sonic and EchoPark dealerships,” Smith said.

Sonic and EchoPark president Jeff Dyke added: “This is a big day for our company and the future of our technology platform. Stephen’s background leading technology infrastructure strategy and his success implementing digital retail initiatives complements our growth plan and goal to provide an exceptional digital and in-store experience for our guests. He’s also a great cultural fit with our teammates.”

Carvelli said, “I am excited to join Sonic and EchoPark and support the company’s goal to provide an exceptional digital and connected in-store guest experience. By keeping our guests at the forefront of everything we do, and leveraging the latest technology, we will deliver a differentiated digital automotive guest experience.”

The company certainly is ramping up its digital retail offering, including the EchoPark.com ecommerce platform going live in select markets in late 2021, as reported here by Auto Remarketing correspondent Arlena Sawyers.

The platform’s early results are positive and its F&I sales are better than expected, Smith said in the group’s latest quarterly earnings call.

“To date, over 90 percent of the end-to-end online transactions were out-of-market sales and were completed in as little as 10 minutes,” Smith said. “We expect to roll out the new digital platform to our entire EchoPark network later this year allowing us to market our entire EchoPark inventory nationwide.”